Thanksgiving is a non-religious holiday?

[surritter]

We’re not talking about personal “holidays”, if there is such a thing. Thanksgiving is not based on a religious event, thing or person. It’s based on the Pilgrims and Indians sharing a meal way back when.

My example of a “personal holiday” that was based on a religious motive was an analogy. Now extend the same idea to a “national holiday” based on a *religious motive *-- to give thanks to a higher being.

 

[mikelionheart]

I heard it stated today on the radio that Thanksgiving is great for Americans because it’s the only holiday (non-purely-civic holiday) that can be celebrated by anyone of any faith.

This got me thinking… if someone doesn’t believe in a God, why would they celebrate Thanksgiving? Maybe they are just recounting something about the Puritans meeting the Native Americans 400 years ago? Or maybe they are just thankful that our country has the freedoms that it does (though those freedoms are waning).

I’m not trying to start a debate with atheists – but this is just an honest question: What’s the point of giving thanks for an American who insists there is no higher power?

Why would Native-Americans want to celebrate Thanksgiving/

In fact, given that the Pilgrim Fathers went to America to create (not escape) religious tyranny, why would any non-Protestant American want to celebrate anything to do with them?

 

[surritter]

Why would Native-Americans want to celebrate Thanksgiving/

In fact, given that the Pilgrim Fathers went to America to create (not escape) religious tyranny, why would any non-Protestant American want to celebrate anything to do with them?

You all are making a mountain out of a molehill.

Here are the facts:
–Thanksgiving is a national holiday.
–Its historical basis is tied to the Pilgrims, but it was officially meant to give thanks to God for our nation’s bounty, as described by numerous presidents (did you even bother to read Washington’s proclamation??), not to celebrate Puritanism.
–Ergo, it is a holiday that has its basis in a religious concept, right?

I’m almost sorry I brought the whole thing up!

 

[kbwall]

Thanksgiving is starting to die down. Christmas music is already playing, hardly anywhere has Thanksgiving decorations, and now Black Friday is becoming Black Thursday. With Black Friday increasing, I wonder if Thanksgiving will become like Memorial and Veterans Day; a day that goes by largely unnoticed unless you’re really paying attention, and the true meaning will be lost to food and sales. Or if you’re lucky enough to have a cushion-y office job where you get that day off.

In any case, I agree that it is very much a secular holiday. It may have been created as a day to give thanks to the Lord, but even if one is an atheist, you can still give thanks to those around you. It’s not like any Church made it official, it’s just a made up holiday. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very nice that churches do Thanksgiving charities, and it is very good that religious folk give extra thanks to God on that day. I just think that getting upset at the secularization of a secular holiday is silly. Getting mad that atheists celebrate Thanksgiving is just as silly as boycotting the holiday because it was by Protestants.

 

[Jala]

Also my kids go to school with a lot of Hindu children who strictly avoid turkey or any other animal products. So they may celebrate a day of giving thanks, but without turkey is it still Thanksgiving???

I haven’t had Thanksgiving turkey in over 30 years. Why would the 4th Thursday in November be any less “Thanksgiving” for us vegans just because of what we do and don’t eat?

Jala

 

[Christiano]

How can Thanksgiving be a religious holiday if it’s only observed in one country? A Christian in Brazil doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s a national holiday created by George Washington, but was only sporadically observed until the Civil War when Lincoln made it the fourth Thursday in November to help heal the nation.

There are a few Christians in Brazil who do celebrate Thanksgiving. I even saw a message on Facebook criticizing those who celebrated Thanksgiving in Brazil, since it’s a typical American holiday, and not a Brazilian tradition.

 

[Usbek_de_Perse]

I would say that Thanksgiving, when it was made a national holiday, was, to a certain extent, de-religionized. Having been removed from its Puritan origins, every religious group is free to celebrate it. In the Episcopal Church it has had its own propers since at least 1928, though not before.

When did it become a customary celebration in the Catholic Church?

I heard it stated today on the radio that Thanksgiving is great for Americans because it’s the only holiday (non-purely-civic holiday) that can be celebrated by anyone of any faith.

This got me thinking… if someone doesn’t believe in a God, why would they celebrate Thanksgiving? Maybe they are just recounting something about the Puritans meeting the Native Americans 400 years ago? Or maybe they are just thankful that our country has the freedoms that it does (though those freedoms are waning).

I’m not trying to start a debate with atheists – but this is just an honest question: What’s the point of giving thanks for an American who insists there is no higher power?